I've been at it for 2 years and I still need reference. Always spend time before a project gathering tons of reference pictures! And copying what other people are doing in a tutorial isn't a bad thing. Eventually you should be able to take off on your own.
Dude not to be unhelpful or come across douchey, but the quickest and simplest way to deal with this is to start creating and posting some of your assets for critique. Think about what you love, e.g. Environments, props, characters, etc. Look at artists already in the industry and do your best to reach that level. 1) Start…